* Here comes Suns starting lineup No. 7 but do not get attached to it.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry is starting P.J. Tucker tonight in place of Shannon Brown to defend Thunder star Kevin Durant, shifting Jared Dudley to shooting guard for the night. Gentry plans to return Brown to the starting lineup for Wednesday’s home game vs. Philadelphia.

“I’ve been around him (Durant) a long time and know what he can do,” said Tucker, who helped recruit Durant to Texas. “He’s one of the best players. I’ll just try to make it tough on him and try to get him in spots to take tough shots. All you can do is play hard on him.”

Durant is a leading MVP candidate, averaging 28.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks. He shoots 51.6 percent from the field, 43.6 percent on 3-pointers and 90 percent from the free throw line (50-40-90 remembrances, anyone?). And he barely comes off the floor at 39.6 minutes per game.

Good luck with all that.

“There’s no guarantee that anybody can guard the guy but it gives us the best chance to guard him in a bigger, stronger guy,” Gentry said.

He will have a hard time doing better than Grant Hill did against Durant in the past. Last season, Durant shot 41 percent in three meetings against the Suns and only got to the line for 6.7 free throws per game. James Harden was the one putting a hurt on Phoenix with 80 points in three games on 35 field goal attempts (he scored 29 at the free throw line).

If Tucker does have any success, there is still Russell Westbrook (21.4 points and 8.7 assists per game), Kevin Martin (15.9 points per game with 46.7 percent 3-point shooting) and Serge Ibaka (14.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game) to handle.

The Thunder is a lethal combination of the top scoring offense and the second-best field goal percentage defense. The Suns counter with the second-worst field goal percentage defense.

* Gentry said last week that the Los Angeles Clippers, winners of 17 straight in the NBA for the first time since the 2006-07 Suns, were the best team the Suns had faced. He might not change his opinion even after tonight because of why he gives the Clippers top billing.

“If you take the whole overall picture, bench and everything, the Clippers are such a deep team to make them the best we’ve played,” Gentry said. “But if you line up a starting five individually, these guys (Oklahoma City) are as good as anybody. There is not a separation between any of these teams – the Clippers, San Antonio, Oklahoma City. I just think the Clippers have a little bit of an advantage because of the depth of their bench.”

* The Suns will get backup center Jermaine O’Neal back for tonight’s game after he sat out Saturday night’s game at Minnesota because of back spasms.

“It’s still bothering me a little bit but I’m going to play,” O’Neal said at today’s shootaround.

O’Neal proved to be a crucial absence for how Nikola Pekovic and the Timberwolves big men pounded away at the interior of the Suns’ defense for 58 points in the paint.

“Anytime you don’t play, you think about how you could have helped the team, especially like that when it’s a strong area of yours like points in the paint,” O’Neal said.

* Goran Dragic did not have a pain-free return to action Saturday night, when he posted his third double-double a night after sitting out because of a left hip bruise.

Dragic has tried to stop dunking this season to save his energy but had two Saturday because of oncoming defenders. The first one tweaked the hip some.

“I saw (Dante) Cunningham trailing me,” Dragic said. “I knew he was going to try to block it so I dunked. When I landed, I felt it a little bit then. But I was OK with my movement.”

* Phoenix Phactoid Pharaoh Vince Kozar’s Phun Phact o’ the Day: Goran Dragic’s 13 free throw attempts Saturday night at Minnesota was one off his career high, set on April 11 with Houston against Utah. It was the most by any Suns player in a game this season.

* The last word goes to Gentry: “I told the guys that we have to find a way to make the plays at the end of a game that win the game and not have another close heart-breaking loss.”

Tweetin’ at www.twitter.com/paulcoro

azcentral.com has switched to the Facebook comment system on its blogs. Existing blog comments will display, but new comments will only be accepted via the Facebook comment system. To begin commenting, you must be logged into an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. While we welcome you to join conversations, readers are responsible for their comments and abuse of this privilege will not be tolerated. We reserve the right, without warning or notification, to remove comments and block users judged to violate our Terms of Service and Rules of Engagement. Facebook comments FAQ

Join thousands of azcentral.com fans on Facebook and get the day's most popular and talked-about Valley news, sports, entertainment and more - right in your newsfeed. You'll see what others are saying about the hot topics of the day.